College Sports Roundup: The BCS is Still Screwed Up!

TM NOTE:The following post is authored by my big brother, Larry Marshall, who is an “incurable college sports fan.” He’s visiting and we spent Saturday glued to college football until the remote cried for mercy at around midnight. The fun we had also inspires a huge shout out to Gary Danielson of CBS for outstanding coverage that made the day immensely enjoyable.

LAST NIGHT the controversial BCS was once again turned upside down, much to the chagrin of SEC haters nationwide.

When the night began only 3 major college programs were undefeated, K State at number 1, Oregon at number 2, and the much loved/hated Notre Dame at number 3.

When the night was over, to everyone’s surprise, K State was pummeled by Baylor 52 to 24.

A lesser surprise resulted in the overtime loss by Oregon at home to Stanford by a 17-14 score, leaving only Notre Dame undefeated and sure to rise to the top of the BCS rankings when they’re announced this evening.

The likely outcome of last night will place Notre Dame number 1 in the BCS rankings, followed by defending national champion Alabama at number 2. Therein lies the next mystery to be developed by the voters and computers in the next week.

The real question is whether Oregon, previously number 1 in both polls and number 2 in the BCS rankings, will only drop to number 3 or fall behind previously number 5 Georgia and previously number 6 Florida, each of whom, like Oregon, have only 1 loss and are from the powerful SEC conference.

The reason this becomes an interesting question is because soon to be number 1 Notre Dame travels this coming Saturday to Southern California to take on USC on their home turf. If Matt Barkley’s injury last night prevents him from playing the Notre Dame game, this becomes a academic exercise. However, if Barkley is able to play and if USC can forego the mistakes that have plagued them this year, Notre Dame’s undefeated season could come to an end. Such a defeat would bring front and center the question of Oregon’s defeat and whether it will fall below Georgia and Florida in the final BCS rankings. Such a fall by Oregon would leave Alabama, Georgia and Florida as the top 3 teams in the final BCS rankings.

Since Alabama and George are set to meet in the SEC title game, one of them will no longer be in the BCS title hunt. However, the winner of the SEC title game will face Florida in the BCS title match up unless Oregon somehow manages to creep above Georgia or Florida in the final BCS rankings.

The obvious and ultimate result will be what most people outside the SEC are praying against, another SEC matchup for the BCS national championship.

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3 Comments

whitepaw
November 18, 2012 at 11:10 pm

BCS is out and Oregon is number 5, with 3 SEC teams ahead of the Ducks (‘Bama, Georgia and Florida.. Go Gators! I work with many Gators).

I am from Oregon and am a HUGE Oregon State Beaver fan (I studied there), so I was delighted with Stanford’s win over the Ducks (have to tread lightly though as we have 2 sons that are Ducks… one an alum, the other a junior in Eugene).

Barkley is out so will not play against the fighting Irish ..

PAC12 games to watch next week are:

1. The Civil War — Go Beavs!! (although I predict the Ducks will, in the end, clobber my Beavs).
2. Stanford vs. UCLA. If Stanford wins, they will play for the PAC12 championship (ironically, against UCLA again). This should be a good game.

Oregon’s (Ducks) only hope of creeping up is to win against the Beavs, for Stanford to lose against UCLA, and for a Barkley-less Trojan team to defeat Notre Dame. Anything can happen but I predict Oregon will not play for the BCS title this year.

Can I say one more time — Go BEAVS!! Proud of my team that has done so well this year after a miserable season last year. Ranked 15th in BCS now, cannot play for the PAC-12 championship, even if we beat the Ducks as we also lost to Stanford, can’t go to the Rose Bowl, but we are at least eligible for some Bowl.

One other note pertaining to the Ducks. Likely known by many, but Phil Knight of Nike heavily subsidizes the team, has built top-notch athletic facilities in Eugene (likely best in the country), and takes a very active role in recruiting and decision-making. In Eugene, there is a gorgeous building, an academic center for student athletes, financed by Phil Knight. My oldest son tutored there when he was a student. On the upper floors, in the women’s bathrooms, as you exit a stall, you see a giant image of Phil Knight… kinda creepy!

The Ducks have different uniforms every week, coutesy of Uncle Phil as he is known in Eugene. But when I saw the Cardinal, yesterday, with their scruffy helmets, gain the upper hand on the Ducks.. priceless! Now, Stanford is certainly not underfinanced. Uncle Phil donates to Stanford as well (he studied at both Oregon and Stanford). Certainly not to the extent that he donates to Oregon. But mostly, it was the imagery that made me smile.

I welcome more posts on College football… or any other college sport that your brother wishes to write about. For me, college football is so very exciting to watch. I cannot help but be drawn to the TV on Saturdays… I usually DVR so I don’t have to endure the commercials and the halftime reports.